Embroidery in Modern Media

When my work-from-home day concludes, I go to my embroidery station and begin embroidering. The transition between spending my entire day in front of a screen to just a piece of fabric feels refreshing because it calms the strain in my eyes which are constantly shifting between screens, reading emails, collaborating with my team members, etc. I have slowly become obsessed with the idea of transition and the process behind it because while it seems easy to stop one task for another, it takes a lot of energy to start something new, especially when transitioning from screen to no screen. I question how I am mentally capable of allowing myself to unwind from a tough workday on managing campaign performance to coping with the limited time I have left in the day for stitching. We spend so much time behind computers and automated devices that it is hard to keep track of time and has scientifically influenced our cognitive ability to function, for example, trying to watch TikTok videos that are less than 30 seconds because anything above that is unbearable for our attention spans. After a certain amount of stitching, I’m accustomed to checking my phone and going on Instagram and then back to stitching as the recurring cycle continues. 

Embroidery is a type of craftwork that enhances a piece of fabric through the art of decorating material, primarily textile fabric, using a needle and thread. I consider embroidery to be a type of craftwork based on the outcome of drawing connections and understanding the implications of handwork techniques across various forms of cultural production. Applying a needle to thread and directing where it goes on the fabric is craftwork. In a world where digital technology is taking over, the idea of defining craftwork is slowly shifting.

Since embroidery is often seen in textile production for its decoration of the piece of fabric, the framework for every artist has been to provide a seamless transaction to produce their design. With the current increase in demand for customized production, it is essential to address ideas around how embroidery designers and makers utilize and advance craft knowledge in the creation of their work given the rapidly expanding sewing and embroidery machines in the market. This reminds me of the Luddites during the 19th-century movement in which English textile workers opposed the use of certain types of cost-saving machinery which resulted in English textile workers being out of a job.

Knowledge and experience of traditional craft processes have been a staple to preserving our cultural heritage and helping future generations understand the significance and impact behind the craft, but now have been supplemented by opportunities of digital technologies, presenting them with a rich variety of options to consider. I think embroidery designers and makers find themselves at an interesting juncture because of highly specialized crafts and design practitioners can now choose if they want to use digital technology in their work rather than navigate traditional craft processes. This matters because it shows the lack of persistence that develops as you problem-solve around stitching designs. It also takes away from practicing different kinds of stitch forms.

I believe when defining craftwork through the lens of embroidery it is meant to be done by hand as defined by  Sarah Corbett. In her book Craftivism, she mentions that “To craft something involves skill in making things mostly by hand not machine” (Corbett 11). It is easy to identify the type of crafts that can be done by hand that look and feel just as elegant compared to using a machine. Sifting through different pieces of thread and variations of colors within a spectrum intentionally supplies the design with satin or cross-stitching patterns guaranteeing that the knots I tried on the back of the fabric will stay in place. Licking the top of the thread to fit the impossibly small needle head and pulling it far down so it does not slip out while stitching allows me to feel in control of my next steps. It is hard to describe the process of machine embroidery because the machine has enough power to stabilize the threads in place without tying any kind of knots. I will explain further about my experience using machine embroidery for the first time.

Hand embroidery is a skill I developed while the world wallowed in uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic. I grew up watching my maternal grandmother sewing together buttons and creating little designs on my sweater, my mom took on that role as I got older, to now doing it myself and sharing that hobby with the world on my Instagram page. My mother worked in the textile industry for 17 years and as a child to a young adult, I remember seeing different textile designers and studio coordinators working together in meetings showing their raw designs and informing my mother about the textiles she should be ordering from the mills to bring the planned designs to life. The image below is an example of the type of designs the designers would put together and then have printed on rolls of fabrics which people could have access to through sample sales and sales in stores.

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Machine embroidery involves the creation of designs that are automatically generated using computer programs. There are thousands of different types of embroidery software that produce excellent designs because the machines are intended to provide a wide range of creative ideas. Softwares like Stitch Buddy or Brother Embroidery software allow you to upload an image in a .PES file and then digitize the imaging as an .SVG file. In the process of digitizing, it codes a stitching pattern that will then be read on the machine for it to be ready to stitch on fabric. Oftentimes the thread used in an embroidery machine is composed of polyester, metallics, or rayon which is thicker than the embroidery thread you would use by hand. For historical context, the development of machine embroidery and its mass production came about in stages during the Industrial Revolution. The first embroidery machine was invented in France in 1832 by Josue Hellmann. Establishing the first embroidery machine was the stepping stone to advancing technology given the next evolutionary step, the Schiffli embroidery machine.

To understand the process of machine embroidery I tested out the Brother SE 700 machine which is also the newest sewing and embroidery machine model produced by the company Brother, to create a couple of digitized patterns that have been installed in the machine. Before I could even start, I had to flip through four different operating manuals to set it up. My first mistake was not realizing that I had bought a machine that had more than one function: sewing and embroidery. The machine was already put together but it was my responsibility as the user to remove the sewing footer and replace it with an embroidery footer exemplified below

The complicated instructions to first put together the right pieces to the machine were frustrating. After numerous Google and YouTube searches, I concluded that these were the main steps to setting up my embroidery machine:

1. Set up the power source and plug in the machine but keep the machine turned off.
2. Unscrew the sewing footer and screw on the embroidery footer
3. Press the needle-looking button and make sure the needle is raised correctly
4. Remove the spool cap, place the spool of thread onto the spool pin, and then reattach the spool cap.
5. Pass the thread under the thread guide, then under the thread guide cover and to the front.
6. Pass the thread through the presser foot and pull down the lever on the side of the machine, take the remaining thread, and pull in the opposite direction so the needle has now been threaded.
7. Hook the embroidery hoop to the fabric and attach it to the fabric. Your final product should look like this:

The most considerate recommendations for physically configuring the system are found in these guidelines. The next steps are perplexing given the amount of work required to feed the machine with data.

1. Download designs in a .JPG format and convert them into .SVG files using either an app or free converting website. Make sure they are in folders from your computer.
2. Now convert the .SVG file using an embroidery digitizing website or app to digitize and convert the file to a .PES file.
3. Download the .PES file onto a USB flash drive and then connect to the embroidery machine. 
4. Feed the machine with the number of threads needed and the color.
5. Check to make sure the bobbin is full.
6. Adjust the dimensions of the image on the 
7. Lower the raiser footer.
8. Click on the needle embroidery button when ready to embroider.

While these steps were indeed difficult to understand and at times frustrating I realized that it is not until you can master understanding the functions of the machine that you can use it. When I started using the machine I ran into several issues such as needles breaking and threads getting caught in the fabric due to the high-speed intensity. However, despite these challenges machine embroidery has become popular given the ten benefits it provides to an artist. In the embroidery digitizing services, feeding the machine with a design leaves no room for trial and error as the machine is programmed to be precise and faster than classic hand embroidery. There is no such thing as trial and error but rather only trial because it is important to test out the machine so we know how to use the functions of the machine. The goal of the machine is to get the job done but it does not stop to recognize that the fabric and design might not go hand in hand, ultimately destroying a fabric. The purpose of a machine is to build a high-quality and durable product, but a hand can do the same; it just takes multiple steps to provide a high-quality product. Here are some examples of designs made by my machine embroidery:

In a world where digital technology is booming and new machinery is coming into the market, it also reminds me of the rise of ChatGPT and A.I. programs that are becoming popular but are also putting people out of their jobs. The labor-saving technology of today in machine embroidery takes away from the traditional methods of embroidery that people enjoy and make a business of using their hands. Though business through machine embroidery can be profitable so is hand embroidery. Breaking down what it means to be profitable, either way, you would charge for the materials and labor. At the time of the Luddites, it took a revolution to bring justice to the English workers who lost their jobs to machines. 

My goal for the future is to continue to improve my skills in hand embroidery and maybe venture into making it a full-time career. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and my work with others who love and appreciate craftwork as well as learning from crafters who have been embroidering for a long time. Embroidery and textiles are two parallels that can intersect and visiting a textile studio earlier this year taught me the value of creating designs the organic way and producing valuable textile fabric from the ground up. I hope to spend more time venturing into new crafts like weaving and spending time incorporating hand-embroidered designs into different kinds of fabrics.